BCCG Newsletter
Together with the British Chamber of Commerce Germany, we publish a newsletter in which we report on current and important topics as well as activities between Germany and the United Kingdom.
The political events surrounding the EU's negotiations with the UK continue to have a lasting impact on the economic relations between the two countries. Our concern is factual and as fact-based information as possible
Newsletter 09. March 2023
Scottish First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon is stepping down from her post in Scotland after 9 years as First Minister, the SNP has until the end of March to elect a new successor.
Windsor-Framework
Windsor Framework and Stormont Brake have the potential to put EU-UK relations on a new basis of trust and enable researchers from both sides to participate jointly in the Horizon programme. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is to be withdrawn.
Instadeep
BioNTech is launching clinical trials in the UK this year together with the AI platform Instadeep with the aim of reducing the earlier trial times for individual cancer vaccines from 3 to 6 months in the medium term toless than 4 weeks.
Newsletter 08 February 2023
National Express
National Express receives billion-euro order for Rhein-Ruhr-Express. UK-based National Express Group plc, through its German subsidiary, has been awarded a €1 billion contract to operate the RE1 and RE11 Rhine-Ruhr Express lines in Germany until 2033.
ARIA
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), a new independent research institution to fund high-risk scientific research, was officially established. Transformative technologies through rapid funding of high-speed research and high prize money: this includes a £800m global super lab and a £39m public budget. Research
Milestone for startup loans
100,000 UK small businesses benefit from government-backed start-up loans. The start-up loan programme reaches the 100,000 milestone, with more than £941 million in support being given to small businesses.
Newsletter January 11, 2023
Satellite Space Launch
The UK Space Agency, together with Virgin Space, has made an attempt at Spaceport Cornwall to bring satellites into orbit above the earth with the help of an orbital launcher. Unfortunately, the satellite did not reach the required altitude. The next launch is planned in Scotland.
Energy costs for companies
The government will reduce support for businesses after warning that the current level of aid is too expensive. Under the new regime, businesses will receive a discount on wholesale prices based on their energy consumption, rather than capping costs as under the current regime.
Ultra Fan
Rolls-Royce has completed the build of its UltraFan® technology demonstrator for testing in the Testbed 80 and is preparing to test it. The UltraFan demonstrator has a 140 inch fan diameter with scalable technology for ~25,000 to 110,000 pounds of thrust and has the potential to further improve the fuel efficiency of narrowbody and widebody aircraft by up to 10 percent. Another approach should lead to large aircraft such as the B747 and A380 being able to fly with 2 engines instead of the previous 4. In the past there were regulations for flights over the sea. However, this regulation was changed as part of the technical development, so that now 2-engine machines are allowed to fly over sea.
Newsletter December 08, 2022
Good Friday Agreement (GFA)
During COP27, Rishi Sunak promised US President Jo Biden a solution to the NI Protocol on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the GFA. In order to gain time for the EU UK negotiations, a new deadline for the elections in Northern Ireland is being sought. The new last possible election date would be April 13th.
Impulses to the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
For the negotiations between the EU & UK, the Toni Blair Institute for Global Change has presented excerpts from a paper in which, among other things, new approaches to dispute settlement in connection with the European Court of Justice are proposed. Recently, the NI Minister of State Steve Baker also announced that he had in mind a solution for the NIP negotiations with the help of a paper.
Faraday Battery Challenge
Based on Faraday's discoveries of electromagnetic rotation and electromagnetic induction as the basis of today's electrical industry, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) announced a competition for research and innovation projects in battery technology. This project would have ended at the end of 2022 and has now been extended to 2025. The budget is £541 million. Partners: Innovate UK (Lead), UK Battery Industrialization Centre, Faraday Institution
BCCG Update 10. November 2022
New Prime Minister
The number 50 has taken on a new meaning in the United Kingdom. That's how long the shortest term of office of a prime minister in the UK lasted when Liz Truss passed from Liz Truss to her successor Rishi Sunak on 25 October.
As is well known, she won the PM Leadership Contest in the summer and then, as successor to Boris Johnson, proved a less than lucky hand in trying to implement an ambitious growth policy in view of the tense economic and energy situation. The presentation of the preliminary "mini-budget" by its Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng has led to strong reactions on the financial market. Even the replacement of Kwasi Kwarteng by her successor Jeremy Hunt could not prevent her resignation.
Within the Tory party, after her resignation announcement, they agreed within a week on Rishi Sunak as her successor, who was already her direct competitor in the summer contest.
For Rishi Sunak, the most important priorities are the stability of public finances and the control of the energy cost crisis. He has taken over the Ministers for Finance, Defence, Foreign Affairs and Northern Ireland from the Truss cabinet .
The EU has tacitly welcomed the fact that he has maintained continuity in the areas of foreign policy and Northern Ireland.
Election in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, introduced by Liz Truss , still stands as the "elephant in the room". In Northern Ireland, the deadline for the formation of an executive government expired on 28 October, without the responsible NI Minister Chris Heaton-Harris having given a date for a new election. Public opinion showed that there was no particular interest in the election. On the morning of November 4th, it was surprisingly announced that this year (before the holidays) there will be no more elections. Obviously, they want to gain time to present the new budget on 17 November and, at the same time, possibly to reach an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol. The silent hope is that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which is currently in the House of Lords, can continue to be parked there.
Horizon consultations for EU R&D programs
The UK government started consultations with the European Commission on 22 September on UK participation in EU programs (Horizon Europa, Copernicus, Euratom Research and Training, Fusion for Energy) and program services (space surveillance and tracking). The EU continues to refuse.
Newsletter 07 October 2022
EU opens infringement proceedings against UK
Coinciding with the start of the UK Government's legislative process for the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, the EU began on 13 June with the reactivation of an infringement procedure dormant since September 2021 and announced the opening of further proceedings (2 plus 4). Among other things, it is about obligations under sanitary and phytosanitary regulations as well as to provide the EU with certain trade statistical data for Northern Ireland. The EU has tacitly taken note of the exceedances for UK re-registration deadlines.
New European Political Community with UK
In the short term, Prime Minister Liz Truss has decided to attend the meeting of the new group, which will take place for the first time this week in Prague. This is a new formation in Europe that can also include non-members of the EU. The initiative for this open group came from French President Emmanuel Macron. As the Czech Republic holds the Presidency of the Council for the second half of 2022, the venue is Prague. However, before the start of the meeting, other countries (UK and Moldova) have registered to host the next meeting. The UK's participation in this forum is expected to provide impetus for the ongoing Northern Ireland talks, especially since the legislative process for the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is taking place in the UK at the same time. It is interesting to note that, at the same time as this forum in Prague, talks between the EU and the UK on the Northern Ireland Protocol have resumed. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill should not be on the agenda of these talks; they are dedicated exclusively to technical processing and tasks. This seems to be due to the fact that the EU continues to oppose this bill.
September 2022 United Kingdom mini-budget
On 23rd September Lizz Truss and Finance Minister Kwasi Karteng presented a list of economic measures aimed at supporting private households in the face of rising energy costs and at the same time launching initiatives to strengthen the economy. This mini-budget has caused the British pound to fall and is controversially discussed. THE PM Liz Truss consistently defends this budget, but has made the first small changes.
Newsletter 06 September 2022
New Prime Minister for the UK
With a strong majority of 57%, the former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party and thus the 56th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In your short inaugural speech after the announcement of the result, you thanked her team for organizing "one of the longest job interviews in history". She will receive her appointment as Prime Minister on Tuesday from Queen Elizabeth II in Balmoral, Scotland.
Energy Conference
On the eve of the wind energy fair, the BCCG invites you to an exciting energy panel.
At the moment, those responsible for European energy policy are particularly concerned with two main topics: the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which represents both an economic and a political threat, and the simultaneous management of the global climate crisis.
Politicians are faced with enormous challenges and the list of questions to be clarified is long: How do we manage to structure our energy supply more independently? Can we accelerate the expansion of renewable energies? What do the current developments mean for competitive markets and to what extent do they influence the achievement of the climate targets set?
What the roadmap to an independent energy policy can look like and what this means for the energy industry and the consumer will be the topic of this year's tenth Energy Conference in Hamburg.
Support for students from the BCCG Foundation
Internships in the UK are very popular with students. Together with AIESEC as a partner, the Foundation can support the exchange of interns between the two countries
The Foundation of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG Foundation), which was founded in 1983 by BCCG members, supports German and British students with intercultural exchange programs. She wants to build bridges for deepening future relations. The cooperation and networking between young Britons and Germans is strengthened by the foundation supporting those who bring ambition and initiative and are willing to take on their own role in the sense of german-British friendship.